Automatic fuel control



oct. 14, 1941. 21. v.. RUMBAUGH ETAL 2,258,924

AUTOMATIC FUEL CONTROL Filed Nov. 18, 1959 2 Sheets--Sheefl l OGL 14, 1941. l, v. BRUMBAUGH ETAL 2,258,924

AUTOMATIC FUEL CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet` 2 Filed Nov. 18. 1959 .MUN

AT y @www Patented @et 14, 194i AUTOMATIC FUEL CONTROL Isaac V. Brumbaugh, Lester S. Kauffman, and Harold C. Reinhart, St. Louis, Mo., assignors to American Stove Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of NewJersey v l Application November 18, 1939, Serial No. 305,199v

(ci. 15s-115) 7 Claims.

The present invention pertains to an automatic fuel control for the burner or burners of a gaseous fuel heated de vice, particularly a gas cooking range, and has as its primary object the provision of such a valve in combination with meansy for automatically igniting the heating readily, easily and comparatively cheaply plicable to a gas cooking range.

Other specific objects, novel features .of construction and improved results which are inherent in the structure which has been conceived to obtain the desired results will appear in more particular in the following detailed description when read in the light of the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form in which-the inventive concept may be embodied.

r In the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view in front elevation ofA a gas cooking range having applied thereto the present invention.

Fig.22 is a fragmentary top plan view illustion"..of Jthepresent improved invention to a ga ous` fuelv burner.

conveyed from the main manifold 2 through any suitable and conventional heat regulator 3, the setting of which is under control of a setting handle 4, vand from said regulator through a fuel conduit 5 the discharge end of which (see Figure 3 of the drawings) is in communication with manufacture, highly efficient in operation and trating-.themanner of application and associa- 5Figui' isy a longitudinal vertical sectional view 'I througnzthe constant burning pilot light and ,thernialv` responsive member, the safety control :valve being shown in side elevation.

wlHaving reference to Figure lof the drawings vand .describing the invention in broad terms ratherthan resorting to specific description,` A

designates a :as cooking range which may be of-"anydesired and conventional type or construction and which is provided with an oven chamber lying behind a door I and having thereinnanyconventional type of gas burner B. A maingaslmanifold or-conduit2 has suitable connection .L with any source of'fuel supply (not shown) 'and serves as the feeding means for fuel'delivered to the oven burner B, avconstant burningpilot burnerfor light C, and a booster burner D. Fuel for the oven burner is primarily of fuel permitted to flow through the conduit r 'I is controllable by a suitable valve 9. Fuel for the booster burner nows to said burner through a conduit I0 which has its supply end connected to a fitting II which interconnects the heat regulator with the main fuel supply pipe 2. The connection of the conduit II) is at a point in front of the heat regulator and hence the flow of gas'therein is in no wise under the control of the regulator. 'I'he now of fuel to both `the conduit I0 and the heat regulator is'under the control of a manually operable Valve I2 interposed in the line which connects the heat regulator 3 and the conduit- Ill with the main supply manifold 2. The discharge end I3 of the conduit Ill is connected to a valve fitting I4 which has communication past a needle valve I5 with the hollow interior I6 of the booster burner D.

Having described the invention generally and broadly, specific description of the parts will now be given.

The safety valve housing E has an inlet chamber IB which receives fuel through an inlet 22 and this chamber is in communication with an outlet chamber I 'l past the valve I9 which is normally urged 'to a closed position against its seat 20 through pressure exerted by a coil spring 2I.. `The outlet chamber I1 is provided with an internally tapped outlet opening I5 to which is connected, see Figure 2 of the drawings, a fitting 23 provided with a fuel outlet nozzle or jet 24 which discharges fuel into the bell shaped inlet Vend 25 ofthe oven burner manifold 26.

The safety fuel control valve I9 is mounted von one end of a pin 21 and held in engagement The adjusting screw 3l is locked in its adjusted position by a lock nut Il.

The safety valve housing E is provided with a web or flange 34 which lies between the lever.

F and the main oven burner B as well as the pilot light and booster burner, as will be clearly apparent by reference to Figure 2 of the drawings,

and this web is provided with an opening 35` for the passage of the end I6 of a thermal member G which is illustrated as being tubular in form. It is' to be understood however that a rod could be substituted for a tube but a tube is found to be more desirable in that it contains less mass and is therefore more rapidly responsive to heat and will tend to cool more rapidly than a rod. In other words, the tube gives a quick thermal response which results in a fast operation of the fuel valve I9 as will more'clearly hereinafter appear. l

The booster burner D is illustrated as being formed integrally with the fuel control valve housing E but integral formation is not the essence of the present invention. The booster burner D is of narrow elongated form and extends outwardly at right angles from the valve housing and in its upper face is provided with a plurality of burner orifices 31 arranged in spaced aligned relationship and having communication with the hollow interior fuel conduitlike portion ii of the burner. At its outer end the booster burner housing isslotted to provide a burner orifice 38 in respect to which` the upturned outlet and flame burning end 39 of the constant burning pilot light C is closely positioned. Secondary air is admitted to the fuelwithin the hollow booster burner through a suitable air inlet port 4l which is positioned closely adjacent the fuel inlet orice 4i which in combination with the hereinbefore mentioned needle valve II serves to meter the fuel delivery to the booster burner. Secondary air is admitted to the constant burning pilot light Cv through an air inlet port 42.

At its outer end the booster with an extension H which we term a carrier and which has its outer end turned upwardly to form a vertically extending leg 43 provided with an opening which threadedly receives a plug 44.

The thermal element G at its inner end 36 is provided with a pin 45 which passes through a suitable opening in the lever' F which is closely burner is provided means-for' assembling the thermal member G. Removal of the plugpermits ready and easy removal and -replacement of thermal members in the device.

To protect the booster burner flames 41 from draft or possible interference from the closely adjacent flames of the main burner a shield 4I is secured as at 49 to one side of the booster burner .and extends for a considerable distance between the booster burner and the main burner B.

By reference to Figure 2 of the drawings it will be seen that the main burner is of the crossilre typ having two parallel' lines of burner oriflces 50 and 5I from which are intended to burn oppositely extending flames. At' a point closely adjacent the pilot flame 4B a row of ignition burner orifices 52 extend. to provide a chain lighter which will assure ignition, by the constant burning pilot light, of fuel issuing from the main burner ports of the main burner. The v carrier H as Well as the plug 44 are composed of what might be well termed a negative" material by which is meant that these parts have an extremely low coeillcient of heat expansion as compared with the high coefficient of expansion of the thermal member G. The plug 44 obviously constitutes an abutment against or from which the thermal member expands to exert the required pressure on the valve operating lever F.

By reason of the fact that the full expansion of the thermal element and the consequent full opening of the valve is responsive entirely to the heat generated by the booster burner the pilot flame at'the pilot light burner may be adjusted b y the valve 9 to be extremely small with a consequent minimum cost of continuous operation of the pilot burner. The flame is however made sufficient so that the burner generates suilicient heat to cause an initial slight opening of the safety control valve I9 and is sufllcient at all times to ignite the booster burner and the main l burner when fuel is supplied to them.

adjacent to the hereinbefore mentioned pin 30 but lies between that pin andthe opposite 'end of the lever which engages the valve operating pin 28. The inner end 36 of the thermal element actually engages the lever and extends from the lever all the way to and has itsouter end 4i supported within the vertical leg 4I of the carrier H. The burner orifices 31 in the upper face of the booster burner D are in a line immediately below the thermal element so that the flames 41 burned at the orifices play on the under side and around the thermal tube. The disposition of the parts is also such that the flame -4l burned by the constant burning pilot light also plays upon the under sideand licks around thethermal element or tube, las clearly appears in Figure 4 of the drawings.

The size of theilame burned at the booster burner is readily-adjustable by the needle valve I5 and inasmuch as the fuel conduit il for theVV booster burner; receives fuel from apoint in front of the heat regulator 3 the size of the llame burned at the booster burner is not kaffected by the particular setting of the heat regulator.

Consequently the position of the safety control valve i9 does not change irrespective of the action of the oven heat regulator in increasing or decreasing the fuel supplyv and the size of the flame burned at the main burner. It will be'seen from the foregoing that when neither the booster or main burners are lighted the oven is not heated but Iis relatively cold and the valve l! is slightly open, and when the manually operated valve i2 is opened gas flows at once to the booster burnerG which is lighted by said pilot burner without further opening the main burner valve I9. The large booster burner being adjacent the single thermal member as'shown the latter is quickly heated and expanded and the thermal member quickly fully opens the valve I9 without the necessity of waiting until the oven is sumciently heated to expand the single thermal member for that purpose.

'I'he sheet metal lever F is not within the safety control valve housing E but is disposed in the space 53 which separates the web 34 from this housing. 4 The web 34 serves as a shield to protect the lever from any accidental displacement.

The screw plug 44 serves as a convenient 75 The construction also makes it possible to visl 2,255,924 ually observe the setting of the device. The device must be set so that the valve I'9 is operated at the proper` time and as to whether or not the device is properly set can be readily ascertained by observing the clearance between the end 54 of the lever and the valve operating pin 29. Adjustment is conveniently available throughy the pin 3l after the lock nut 33 has been loosened. The preferable and best adjustment has been found to be Vone 'which will enable ythe insertion' between the end of the lever and the pin 29 of a spacer having a thickness fromf0.020 to 0.030 without causing the valve I9 to open.. The less the clearance between the lever and the end of the pin the more rapid will be the opening of the valve but the closing time thereof Will be slower.

In operation the ignition of the main burner is automatic after the manual control valve l2 has been opened. The opening of this valve permits fuel to ow to the booster burner whichis ignited Aautomatically by the constant burning pilot light.

Simultaneously fuel will ow through the oven heat regulator and into the inlet or receiving chamber I8 of the automatic valve housing. The constant burning pilot light has maintained the thermal element in a sufcient degree of expansion as to have caused the valve i9 to be slightly` open so that the fuel from the chamber I8 can flow into the outlet chamber Il and through the conduit or fitting 23 into the intake manifold can be obtained at the main burner. Thereafter bustion chamber having a main burner, a fuel manifold connected 'with said main burner, a combined safety and controlling gas valve housing, a combined safety and main gas controlling valve in said housing, a thermal member located inside of said chamber and operatively connected with said valve, a yfuel conduit outside of said chamber and connected with said housing and having a manually operated valve outside of said chamber for controlling theflow of fuelto said valve housing, a pilot lightwithin said chamber and located 'under said thermal member for slightly expanding -said thermal member when burning to partially open said combined main gas controlling and safety valve, and a booster burner located wholly within said chamber and under said thermal member Within said chamber to quickly furnish additional expanding heat directly thereto to cause said main 'controlling valve to fully open and feed a full supply of gas to said ymain burner for the purpose described,

and a fuel conduit connecting said pilot burner vwith said manifold extending outside of and in conduit between said booster' burner and the and until the ymanual valve l2 ls closed the operation of the main burner is underthe automatic control 'of the heat regulator 3.

It will be seen that the manually operated valve I2 can be opened with' perfect safety because the valve I9 will be closed and no'fuel can reach the main or auxiliary burners unless the pilot light burner is ignited.` If the pilot light burner is ignited the passage of fuel to the main and auxiliary orvbooster burners can bevpermitted with safety because the flame of the pilot burner stands ready to ignite said fuel as soon as it escapes through the burner orifices of the main and booster burners.

It will be further seen. that the present device provides one which can be operated at an extremely low cost inasmuch as the constant fuel consumption of the constantly burning pilot light lwill be extremely small due tothe fact that the flame burned at this burner can be maintained very low due to the cooperative booster action exerted through the thermal member upon the safety valve by the booster or auxiliary burner.

It will be further seen' and readily understood by those familiar with this art that the present device is unusually simple of construction and as l a consequence the likelihood of failure of operation is materially reduced and that the cost of manufacture and assembly isalso materially re -v duced over those devices now known and made 1. In a gas range the combination of a com- 7 manual operated valve outside of said chamber, whereby said extension of said thermal member and said booster burner Will quickly fully expand under the booster burner heat and quickly open said main fuel controlling valve without waiting for the combustion chamber to become sumciently-hot to cause said expansion of said thermal member.

3. A gas appliance of the type disclosed, comprising an oven, a main burner, a manifold, a

conduit connecting the main burner with said valve housing having a single 'valve seat therein.

a single one-way acting safety valve'co-acting with said single valve seat within said housing and acting to control the gas forthe main burner, a thermal member in said oven and operatively connected with said single one-way acting safety valve, a booster burner directly heating said thermal member while the pilot is burning and also causing the quick feeding of the gas to the main burner, said pilot burner directly heating the same thermal member to open said singleoneway acting combined main gasand safety valve slightly whenthe pilot burner alone 1s operating and to completely close said single one-way'acting safety valve and thereby completely cut off the flow of all gas to said main burner should the pilot burner be extinguished, said parts operating as and for the purpose described. V

4. A gas burning appliance` for gas ranges.,

pendently of said manifold connections of the main and booster burners with said manifold, a

-single thermal member in `said oven directly and fully opening said single one-way valve as and for the purpose described.

5. A combined single safety and main burner gas control valve and a single thermal control member for gas ranges, comprising a pilot burner operating on said single thermal member to partially'open said valve and to close said partially open valve should the pilot be extinguished, and a large booster burner located adjacent said thermal member and 'suddenly greatly increasing the expansion of the same thermal member, thereby quickly opening wide said main* burnergas control valve Without waiting for the suflicient heating of a cool range oven to increase the expansion Aof said thermal member to open wide said gas control valve.

6. A combined single safetygand main burner gas control valve and a single thermal control member for gas ranges, comprising a pilot burner operating on said single elongated thermal member to partially open said single safety valve and an elongated booster burner located adjacent and extending parallel said single thermal member for quickly and greatly increasing the expansion of said single thermal member and quickly opening wide said main burner gas control valve without waiting for the Vsuillcient heating of a cool range oven to increase the expansion of said thermal member to accomplish said remllt.

'7. A combined safety and gas controlling means for gas ranges, 'comprising a housing containing a one-way acting single main burner gas-control valve therein, a thermal member projecting into said housing with its inner end operatively arranged with respect to said one-way valve and its outer end arranged to be partially expanded by a pilot burner to partially open aforesaid valve, a booster burner additionally heating said thermall member and the same thermal member further and quickly expanded to quickly move said one-way valve to wide open position without waiting for the range oven to heat up sufficiently to increase the expansion of said thermal member to open wide said gas control valve.

ISAAC V. BRUMBAUGH. LESTER S. KAUFFMAN. HAROLD C. REINHART. 

